Publication Order of Standalone Novels

She’s part of the “Baldwins” of the book world – writing is clearly a common trait in the Clark family. Her name is Carol Higgins Clark, daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, and ex sister in law of author Mary Jane Clark.

Born in the 50s, Carol Higgins Clark clearly inherited her mothers gift for mystery and suspense writing. Every single book Mary Higgins Clark puts out will be on a bestseller list SOMEWHERE, yet Carol Higgins Clark has been able to break out of the shadow of her mother.

Initially however, Carol Higgins Clark wasn’t planning to be writer. She had the goal of acting, and studied it as well as starring in the likes of “Who Killed Amy Lang” as well as “A Cry in the Night”.

However the writing bug hit Clark – as it tends to do. She was assisting her mother with various writing duties such as re-typing all of her transcripts for her, as well as assisting in changes to her books such as naming locations different and naming characters different.

Carol Higgins Clark learned a lot by helping her mother, and this is what would lead her to be a writer. Her novels are similar to her mothers in that they are suspense novels, however the books do contain a light-heartedness that her mothers books don’t have. It’s quite interesting reading both Carol and her mothers novels, because while you can tell they are from the same family and have the same voice, the books are still different enough.

Carol Higgins Clarks books feature the character Regan Reilly, and the inspiration from her mother is clearly obvious. In a nice tribute to her mother, the character Regan Reillys mother is a famous author called Nora Regan Reilly – a nice hat tip to her mother there.

Regan Reilly is female, and enjoyed the finer side of life with education in private schools as well as trips around Europe, before becoming a private detective.

Carol Higgins Clark Books: Decked

The first novel in Carol Higgins Clarks Regan Reilly Series of Books is entitled Decked. In what is a great way at establishing the character immediately, there is a class reunion and she attends it, only to discover the body of her ex-roommate, who had disappeared years ago.

Decked is a fantastic mystery and with the experience of helping her mother, it allows Carol Higgins Clark to come flying out at the start line with a top notch book. Often with authors and their first books, you’ll find that they can be a bit rough. While like any author, Higgins Clark gets better with age, her first book Decked is still a great novel.

It’s a very solid mystery that is easy to read and skim through. As mentioned above there is a lot of good humour in it and it also has a very nice story of suspense. It features realistic characters and is set up really well in terms of a “Whodunnit” – with many realistic characters.

Carol Higgins Clark Books: Jinxed

Jinxed is the sixth novel in the Regan Reilly series of novels, and is endorsed by NYT Bestseller Nelson DeMille. DeMilles quote on the book was that it will “keep readers entrances and entertained from cover to cover.” It does just that right from the beginning when our favourite LA Private Investirgator receives a call from Lilac Weldon. Weldons daughter, an actress, has gone missing.

Time is also not on their side either, with a wedding coming up that her daughter needs to be there for. A wedding? Is it really that big a deal? Why of course it is – because every family member who attends gets $2 million dollars from the rich aunt who is getting married.

This is a thriller from the offset. The villains in the story are set in place immediately, and the only real problem with it, like many of her books, is it can be a bit overwhelming in terms of all of the characters that appear and are introduced. Very easy to lose track – especially if you are reading on a Kindle or similar ereader.

It’s still a great mystery book though, and a good enough story that even after you’re finished it – you can still go back and read it again.

Books Turned Into Movies

At this time, none of Carol Higgins Clark books exclusively written by her have been made into either a movie, or a television show or mini series.

However, Deck the Halls HAS been made into a movie. This book was written by both Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, and features Regan Reilly. The book is ironically credited more to Mary than Carol.

The move itself was released in 2011, with Scottie Thompson playing Regan Reilly. Thompson is generally found in TV movies, although she had a run as Jeannie Benoit on NCIS. Jack was played by Eric Johnson, a Canadian whose major roles include Legend of the Falls and Rookie Blue.

Master of the standalone thriller genre, Shari Lapena, is back. Author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest is the latest novel by Shari. It takes place in a cozy mountain lodge in Winter where various people are staying for a romantic getaway. A blizzard cuts off the power and any contact with the outside world so everyone settles in for the long haul. Then a guest dies. And another. Knowing Shari's other books, this should be one we'll be reading late into the night. For more details or to pre-order, visit our Shari Lapena page.

Recommendations

Every 2 weeks we send out an e-mail with 6-8 Book Recommendations. We'll base this on various factors for example "If you like Jack Reacher..." or "If you like short stories in the horror genre". Insert your e-mail below to start getting these recommendations.

MISSING A BOOK?

I do my best to make sure the book lists are complete and current, but due to human or machine error while attempting to keep 3000+ authors up to date, the occasional book can be missed or will be listed under an alternate title. If you see one missing just send me an e-mail below. Thanks!

Author / Series

Book(s)

Featured Series

Our book series of the month is the Will Robie Series by David Baldacci. If you like Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne etc then you'll love the Will Robie series. These are page turners to the max too and Baldacci knows how to keep you going all night long!

Featured Author

Bill Wenham is the author of various book series including The Inspector Charrington Mysteries and the Inspector Bruce Mysteries. He just started writing in his 80s to follow a life long dream. It’s an amazing story and the books he has written are pretty great too – his passion really shines through. Read more about Bills books.

Did You Know…

That author and short story master Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King? Born as Joseph Hillstrom King, he wanted to succeed on his own rather than due to his famous name, and has published many books under the name of Joe Hill.